Following the formation of the PWHL in 2023, Stecklein was one of the first three players to sign with Minnesota. She helped the Minnesota Frost win back-to-back Walter Cup championships in 2024 and 2025, leading all players in playoff scoring during the 2025 championship run. Previously, she won the Isobel Cup with the Minnesota Whitecaps in 2019, scoring the overtime winner and earning Playoff MVP honors. Stecklein was a founding player of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) in 2019 to advocate for a sustainable professional women's league, winning the PWHPA's championship cup in 2023 and earning Best Defender honors.
At the collegiate level, Stecklein won three NCAA championships with the Minnesota Golden Gophers (2013, 2015, 2016), serving as team captain her final two years and assistant in 2015.
Early life
Born in Roseville, Minnesota, to Linda and Robb Stecklein, Lee was raised in Roseville with her siblings, brother Ross and sister Jill.[2] Her mother played football for the University of Wisconsin from 1981 to 1984.[3] Her brother Ross played ice hockey at St. John's University.[2] Stecklein began playing hockey at age six on her brother's team.[3]
Stecklein attended Roseville Area High School and participated in USA Hockey National Development Camps starting at age 14.[4] She was a member of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team and represented the United States at the Under-18 World Championships in 2010 and 2012.[4] She was selected to participate in the USA Hockey Festival in August 2011 and took part in the Four Nations Pre-Camp in fall 2011.[4]
Stecklein led Roseville to Suburban East Conference championships four times and a Minnesota state title in 2010.[4] In 2012, the Raiders advanced to the state championship game in Class AA, where they lost to Minnetonka.[4] She scored 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in her senior year, including seven points in postseason play.[4] As a junior, she tallied 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) and was Roseville's top-scoring defenseman.[4] Stecklein earned all-state honors in 2011 and 2012, and was honorable mention all-state in 2010.[4] She earned all-conference honors eight times in her career across multiple sports including hockey, lacrosse, and tennis.[4]
Stecklein played four seasons (three years as captain) for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey team from 2012 to 2017, winning three NCAA national championships and establishing herself as one of the program's most decorated defensemen. She played in all 41 games of her freshman season (2012–13) at Minnesota, tallying three goals and nine assists for 12 points with a +35 plus–minus rating.[4] She was named Big Ten Conference Distinguished Scholar.[4] Stecklein scored her first collegiate goal in a 10–2 victory over New Hampshire on November 24, 2012.[4] The following day, she scored the opening goal in a 4–0 win over New Hampshire, receiving assists from Megan Bozek and Amanda Kessel.[5] Minnesota won the 2013 NCAA championship, with Stecklein contributing an assist in the 4–1 final victory over Harvard.[4]
Stecklein redshirted her sophomore season (2013–14) to train full-time with Team USA for the 2014 Winter Olympics.[4] Upon her return to Minnesota for the 2014–15 season, she was named assistant captain and earned multiple honors including AHCA/CCM Hockey Second Team All-American, All-USCHO First Team, and All-WCHA First Team.[4] She tied for fifth in the nation for scoring among defensemen with 27 points (5 goals, 22 assists) and led the Gophers with 59 blocked shots.[4] Minnesota won the 2015 NCAA championship, defeating Harvard 4–1 in the final, with Stecklein recording an assist.[4]
As a junior in 2015–16, Stecklein was named team co-captain alongside Hannah Brandt and posted a career-best 30 points (8 goals, 22 assists) with a +50 plus–minus rating.[4] She was named to the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team as Minnesota won its third consecutive national championship, defeating Boston College 3–1 in the 2016 final.[4] Stecklein earned AHCA/CCM Hockey Second Team All-American, All-USCHO Second Team, and All-WCHA First Team honors.[4]
In her senior season (2016–17), Stecklein was named team captain and earned AHCA/CCM Hockey First Team All-American honors.[4][6] She ranked fifth in the nation among defensemen with 24 points (4 goals, 20 assists).[4] She was awarded the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor and was named to multiple academic honor teams including CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large First Team.[4] Stecklein was also honored as Minnesota's 2016 Patty Berg Legacy Award recipient for her academic and athletic achievements.[7]
Stecklein finished her career ranked eighth all-time at Minnesota in both career points (83) and career assists (65) among defensemen.[7] Stecklein is the only player to win both the NCAA national championship and the IIHF World Women's Championship in the same year three times (2013, 2015, 2016).[4]
Professional
Minnesota Whitecaps (2018–19)
Though Stecklein was selected second overall by the Buffalo Beauts in the 2016 NWHL Draft,[8] she did not play for them due to her commitment to the U.S. national team ahead of the 2018 Olympics.[8] When the Minnesota Whitecaps were added to the league as an expansion team ahead of the 2018–19 season, Stecklein signed with the team on June 20, 2018.[9]
Stecklein on the ice for the Minnesota Whitecaps, March 2019
In the regular season, Stecklein recorded six assists in the first four games as the Whitecaps began their inaugural campaign with four consecutive wins over the Metropolitan Riveters.[10] Paired with Amanda Boulier on defense, the duo combined for 11 points to form the highest-scoring defensive tandem in the league.[11] The Whitecaps finished as regular season champions with a 12–4–0 record and sold out all ten home games at TRIA Rink.[12]
In her lone season with the team, Stecklein helped the Whitecaps win the Isobel Cup, scoring the overtime winner in the championship game against the Beauts.[13] Stecklein was named Playoff MVP after recording one goal, one assist, and four blocked shots in the final.[14] She was named one of the team captains for the 4th NWHL All-Star Game earlier in the season.[15]
PWHPA (2019–23)
In 2019, following the collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), Stecklein joined more than 200 other prominent women's players in founding the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), which vowed to boycott the NWHL with the goal of establishing a unified and financially stable professional league.[16] Stecklein released a statement saying that it was not possible to make a "sustainable living in the current state of the professional game", and specifically noted the low salaries and lack of health insurance policies.[17]
The PWHPA organized the Dream Gap Tour, a series of showcase games across North America. Stecklein played for the Minnesota-based team through the regional hub system.[18] In February 2021, she played in a historic game at Madison Square Garden, marking both the first time professional women's hockey was played at the venue and the first professional women's hockey game broadcast live on television.[19][20] The game was televised on NHL Network in the United States and Sportsnet in Canada.[21] Stecklein also participated in Dream Gap Tour stops in Chicago, where she scored her first point of the 2021 tour on a power play goal against New Hampshire.[22]
For the 2022–23 PWHPA season, Stecklein played for Team Harvey's, named after Hayley Wickenheiser.[23] In the November 2022 showcase in Truro, Nova Scotia, she was named PWHPA Athlete of the Week after leading all defenders with seven points, including a four-point performance in one game.[24] She was later named the first star of a 5–1 win over Team Scotiabank with one goal and three assists.[25] Team Harvey's went undefeated during the Truro showcase. At the end of the 2022–23 season, Stecklein was named PWHPA Best Defender and won the championship cup.[26]
Minnesota Frost (2023–present)
Stecklein playing for the Minnesota Frost, February 2024
Stecklein scored her first goal with Minnesota on January 14, 2024, against New York.[32] In the inaugural season, she recorded eight points in 24 regular season games, leading all Minnesota defensemen in ice time.[33] The Frost finished as the fourth seed and defeated first-seeded Toronto Sceptres in the semifinals, completing a reverse sweep after losing the first two games. Minnesota won the inaugural Walter Cup championship, defeating Boston in five games. Stecklein contributed three assists in the ten playoff games.[33]
In the 2024–25 PWHL season, Stecklein recorded nine points in 30 regular season games. After going scoreless in the first 28 games of the season, she broke her goal-scoring drought by scoring twice in a 3–0 win at Ottawa and once at Boston in the final two games of the regular season to help the Frost clinch the final playoff spot.[34] In the playoffs, Stecklein became the first player in PWHL history to record three points—two goals and an assist—in a single period during a Game 2 victory at Toronto.[34] She led all players in playoff scoring with eight points (four goals, four assists) in eight games as the Frost won their second consecutive Walter Cup championship, defeating the Ottawa Charge in four games.[35]
After redshirting her sophomore season at the University of Minnesota to train full-time with Team USA for the 2014 Winter Olympics,[4] Stecklein competed in Sochi, where she won a silver medal as the youngest member of Team USA at age 19.[4] She recorded one assist in five games.[4] The United States lost to Canada 3–2 in overtime in the gold medal game.[38] Canada's Marie-Philip Poulin tied the game with 55 seconds remaining in regulation and scored the overtime winner.[38] After the Olympics, Stecklein returned to the University of Minnesota.[38]
At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Stecklein won gold as the United States defeated Canada 3–2 in a shootout in the final.[39] Stecklein led all American skaters in ice time with an average of 22:27 per game.[39] It was the first Olympic gold medal for the United States women's hockey team since 1998.[39]
At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Stecklein won a silver medal.[2] She scored one goal in the quarterfinal against the Czech Republic, breaking a 1–1 tie.[40] The United States lost to Canada 3–2 in the gold medal game.[2]
In total, Stecklein won seven World Championship gold medals and two silver medals.[2] Her final game with the senior national team before stepping away was the gold medal victory at the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship in Brampton, Ontario.[42]
In 2023, Stecklein stepped away from the national team.[42] She returned to the team in time to be selected for the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship, where she won her eighth World Championship gold medal.[2] In the gold medal game, the United States defeated Canada 4–3 in overtime.[43] She also scored a goal in a 2–1 pool play victory over Canada.[43]
↑Rule, Heather (November 21, 2023). "'The Game Deserved This'". Minnesota Hockey Magazine. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
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